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Chapter 2
You never know when everything’s about to change…
(Derek's point of view)
I didn’t ask for the house.
Sofas, fireplaces, rugs – all good shit, but not my kind of thing. I prefer life in those cheap Southside apartments that you can rent for a month and then leave behind without so much a glance back. The floors are usually grimy and the corners are filled with spider webs, but hey, I like it that way. It means I’m on the move. Restless. The predator.
This house however…
I lean against the frame of the doorway, my lips pressed together in a scowl. I scan the carpeted family room, pausing briefly at the fireplace. Steph’s already thrown a couple of logs in there and started a fire. I bet she’s thrilled I got this assignment. I can just hear her saying, “Maybe this will teach you something.”
She means: maybe this will make you stop acting like a goddamn asshole and start acting more like a human being.
She’s worried about me, I can tell. And on some level, I appreciate it. She’s the only goddamn friend I’ve got, and she matters – more than she knows. But I’m tired of her nagging, and I’m tired of the sympathetic looks. I’m an asshole, so shoot me. I don’t need to be changed. I don’t need to be fucking fixed. I just need my life back to what it was two years ago.
Two years ago, I would have stepped in and told Wilbeck flat up I didn’t want the house. In fact, two years ago, I would have told him I didn’t want the fucking job. I like quick assignments. Go in, find this out, or kill this guy, and then get the hell out of there kind of jobs. Not jobs like this one.
Two years ago, I could have said all that and gotten away with it. Not anymore. A couple assignments gone astray, and suddenly I’m not the shit anymore. No one remembers that only a while ago I cracked the biggest fucking case our little operation has ever had to deal with, or that only a while ago tough guy Wilbeck himself was kissing my ass.
No, now no one gives a damn what I say. In a way, it’s nice. No more rookies groveling at my feet and asking for advice. No more hero-worship or sycophants trying to buy me lunch. No more Wilbeck asking me whether my newest gun was good enough, or whether my sunglasses needed polishing. But there’s no more power either – and I liked the power.
Now I’m stuck with this dumbass assignment that’s bad enough to have me considering retirement. It’s not that it isn’t important. It’s important as hell. But I like getting dirty and messing with dangerous sorts – drug dealers, professional thieves, crooked businessmen…
Not their high school daughters.
My cell phone starts vibrating in my pocket and I pull it out, flipping it open and glancing only briefly at the caller ID. I don’t need to check. There’s only one person that calls this number.
“What’s up, Steph?”
“Oh, the usual,” she replies. “Ryan called to remind me that you haven’t gotten your supplies yet, so I thought you might want to do that today.”
My muscles tense up and my eyes harden at the very mention of the son of a bitch. I sneer, and spit out my reply. “You mean he called to flirt and ask you out to coffee again.”
She ignores me. “I’m coming over right now. You need to go shopping, and I doubt you’ve ever stepped foot in a mall.”
The word ‘mall’ throws me off, and I blink. “What?”
“You need a backpack, Derek,” she says, half-patronizing, half-amused. “If you’re going to pretend you’re a student, you have to look the part. We’re talking an entire new wardrobe here – for some strange reason I don’t think your leather jacket and sunglasses are going to fit in too well. Have you thought about this at all? I know you think it’s a trivial assignment, but it’s not. And Wilbeck chose you to do it for a reason…it’s a second chance.” She pauses. “Ryan was really worried –”
“Ryan was worried about shit,” I snarl. “He doesn’t give a damn about this project. He knows it’s humiliating and he knows it’s stupid – that’s why he asked Wilbeck to give it to me. The “second chance” crap is all bullshit he’s feeding to you to make it sound nicer.”
“Derek, goddamn!” She’s silent for a moment, and I’m afraid she’s going to hang up. But when she speaks again, her voice is soft and persuasive – typical Stephanie charm. “Derek…I know you don’t like him, and I understand why. But if you could just overlook the fact that he…took your job, and try to see him without any prejudices, I think you might like him. He’s a nice guy, Derek, he really is. And you don’t have to agree, but if you could at least try, it’d mean a lot to me, okay? Please?”
I gnash my teeth in silent anger – goddamn girls and their goddamn words – but I stop clenching the phone so hard, and I feel a little guilt creep into my words. “Alright Steph. I’ll try. I can’t promise you I’ll like the asshole, but I’ll try to.”
She beams. “That’s all I ask. I’ll be over in a bit, so get ready.” There’s a soft click, and I shut my cell, placing it back into my jacket pocket.
You don’t know half of it, Steph, I think to myself bitterly. You don’t know half of it.
Steph takes off her sunglasses and looks over at me. “How are you doing?” A lock of her soft brown falls over her face as she speaks, and I reach over to brush it behind her ear. She’s beautiful, as always. Steph’s a petite small-town girl with doe-faced eyes and flawless skin – she’s always reminded me of Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. She’s not a blunt, in-your-face kind of beauty, but she’s breathtaking if you look closely. We’ve been best friends for 10 years, and I’ve loved her for 3.
“I’m doing fine,” I reply, leaning back in my seat. “Could be better.”
She laughs, a familiar sound. “You don’t have to be so cynical all the time.” She puts the car in reverse and backs out.
“Hell yeah I do. It’s part of the character.”
She rolls her eyes and switches the gear back into drive. “Look in the glove compartment. Your folder’s in there.”
I take out the folder and open it. As usual, Steph’s assembled a fair amount of information for me. She’s the fact-finder; it’s her job, and she’s damn good at it. I scan through the Dorian profiles, figuring I’ll look more in depth at them later.
There’s a blown-up photo behind all of the fact sheets – a cutout from some past issue of People magazine. It’s a rare shot of the entire Dorian family, one of the five or so that exist. Senator Zach Dorian stands in the back, smiling suavely with one hand resting on his wife Lauren’s shoulder. Their eldest son Andrew, probably sixteen in the picture, is sitting down before them in a casual, lounging position, his right hand draped across a knee and the corners of his lips lifted in a sort of roguish smile. The other Dorian son, Matthew, only four or so in the picture, lays in his mother’s arm, his head gently resting against her shoulder and his blue eyes staring openly at the camera.
But it’s the girl in the middle of the photo that draws my attention – a girl of about twelve, smiling radiantly beside Andrew with her head tilted slightly and her left hand entwined with her brother’s right; a girl with light green-blue-hazel-gray eyes and auburn curls.
The rest of her family is blond.
Stephanie sees me looking at the picture, and she smiles wryly. “Cute photo, isn’t it? They seem like the perfect family. Zach’s got this new ‘People’s Senator’ slogan going, and he’s quickly gaining support. I’ll be damned if he isn’t seriously considering running for President. Andrew’s been voted one of America’s hottest bachelors for the third year in a row.” She glances at the photo. “I can see why.” She looks back at the road. “He’s 22 now, and off finishing his degree at Harvard.”
“Daddy pay his way in?”
“Perhaps. But he’s not dumb either – he’s going to be just like his father when he grows up: another crooked multi-millionaire. He’s been running his dad’s business the past few years. He’s been doing surprisingly well…unfathomably well, in fact. He’s pulling something, but I’m not sure what. Wilbeck has his suspicious, I have mine, and I’m sure you’ll have your own soon. All the Dorians are corrupt as hell,” she says, glancing at the photo again with distaste.
“I have no doubt,” I say dryly.
“But Elle Dorian…she’s an interesting one.” Stephanie smirks. “Notice her eyes?”
“How could I miss them?”
“And…? Any realizations?”
I pause. And then, “Holy shit.”
Stephanie smiles. “Exactly. I thought they looked familiar, when I first saw that picture, but it wasn’t until you introduced me to your girlfriend that I remembered where I’d seen them before.”
I cough. “I wouldn’t call Carlyn my…girlfriend.”
Stephanie laughs carelessly. “Your whore, then. Anyway, their eyes are identical. Elle Dorian’s eyes are unmistakably Dobrikeyes. No one else in the world has eyes like that. It must have been some genetic mutation that got passed through the generations.” She motions to the photo. “You know why there are so few family portraits? Zach Dorian makes all sorts of speeches about how he wants to protect his children and keep their lives from becoming too public, but he doesn’t mind Seventeen visiting his house on a regular basis to take a couple hundred shots of Andrew, or Disney World using Matthew for nation-wide commercials. It’s just Elle he won’t let the press touch. He feeds them all kind of bullshit about how she’s his only daughter, and mostly they buy it, but there have been all kinds of rumors spread.”
“Anyone make the Dobrik connection yet?”
She purses her lips. “I don’t think so, or the whole thing would have blown over way before now. The media would love it. You’ve got the Dorians on one hand – America’s elite, and then you’ve got the Dobriks – America’s most wanted criminals. A connection between the two? The press would eat it up.”
“They’d have a field day,” I nod. “So why the hell hasn’t anyone made the connection? And,” I turn to her, “what the fuck is a Dobrik doing living with the Dorians? Does she even know who the hell she is?”
“I can find out that first part – why no one has made the connection yet,” Steph says, turning into a parking space and applying the brakes. “But you get to answer the latter two. I believe that’s why Wilbeck sent you on this, isn’t it?” She turns to me with a grin. “Still think this assignment is below you?”
“Actually, yeah,” I say bluntly. “I feel like I’m some damn detective in some teenage drama novel.” I get out of the car and slam the door behind me. “Other people find answer and give them to me. I just take the gun and shoot.” Stephanie’s smile frezes, and then drops.
I almost feel sorry.
Don’t get me wrong – I think this stuff is interesting. But this kind of drama is for teenage chicks, kind of like the one I’m supposed to be shadowing. Not for me. I’ve killed people, goddamn. Shoved knives down people’s throats. And now they send me to some high school in disguise as some idiot high schooler to find some girl and get her fucked up story?
I haven’t been in school since 3rd grade. I’ve never stepped foot in a high school, and thought I’d never need to – but hey, look at me now, 21 and independent, but I still have to enter the damned halls.
Stephanie looks at me and sighs. She asks, “What are you going to do?” It’s her first sentence in a while.
I shrug. “Whatever’s quickest. I’m charming, good looking; maybe I’ll just get her to go out with me. Easy access to all the information about her I’d ever need.” If she’s hot, I might be able to find ways to enjoy this assignment.
Steph snorts. “Charming indeed.”
“You have no idea how all the girls used to drool over me back in school.”
“In third grade?” Stephanie giggles. I crack a smile.
And suddenly, the ice is broken. Just like that. Steph and I have been through worse.
I open the folder again, and take out the photo. “Aside from the eyes, she doesn’t look anything like Carlyn,” I muse. “Carlyn’s a blonde bitch. This girl’s got auburn hair, and she seems a helluva lot more naïve. She’s probably easily manipulated.” I toss the photo back in the folder and put it away. “This assignment’s gonna be a gimme.”
Steph thinks differently, but she shrugs. She sits back and sips her soda, looking out at the crowd of people. She points out a girl with auburn hair sitting a ways from us, and says, “Her hair’s kind of like Elle’s, don’t you think? It’s pretty. I’ve always wanted auburn hair.”
I look at her like she’s ridiculous. “Why the hell would you want that? You’ve got the most goddamn beautiful hair I’ve ever seen.”
Steph blushes. “Nonsense. My hair’s boring…it’s one shade, all the way through. Look at the way her hair changes from brown to red to golden. Isn’t that cool?”
I look at the girl’s hair again, but I still don’t see anything special. “Yours is better,” I inform Steph. “Period. I’m not arguing with you over hair color. Are you trying to make me feel effeminate?”
She stares at me and then starts giggling hysterically. “As if you could ever seem effeminate.”
I stare at her, and she just laughs harder. Then she stops suddenly, her eyes fixed at some point slightly to my right. I turn around, and raise my eyebrow. There’s a girl standing next to me – the one with the auburn hair we were discussing about a moment ago, actually. I glance over at Steph and mouth, “Do you know her?”
Steph shakes her head.
“Hi,” the girl says cheerily with a smile. She’s got a nice smile – sweet, confident, and genuine. Don’t see many people with smiles like that anymore. She sticks out her hand and adds, “I’m Elle.”
Elle? I stare at her. How…ironic. Steph hisses at me, “Shake her hand, you moron.”
I glare at Steph, and then take Elle’s hand. “I’m John.” There’s no need to tell her my real name.
She laughs softly, a nice innocent sound. “I saw you from over there, and I thought I might come up and introduce myself,” she says. Then she looks up, and I’m so fucking shocked I don’t believe my eyes. Or technically, I don’t believe her eyes. She’s got the damned Dobrik eyes, and unless Elle Dorian’s got a twin running around, this has to be the damned girl herself. Is she on to us? Already? Impossible.
I’m confused as hell, and worried, but I mask my emotions. I examine her suspiciously. She’s…blushing, I realize.
“Are you two dating?” she asks suddenly, surprising me yet again. The question hits hard as it always does, pulling at the scabs covering a fresh wound. I stare at the girl, my eyes hardening angrily. What’s she playing at?
I hear Steph laugh behind me and reply, “No.”
I shake my head too, but my eyes never leave the girl. She looks a little nervous, but her chin’s raised high. Her lips are quirked upwards into a small smile, like she’s laughing at herself. Her eyes glint with fresh courage – defiant, mischievous, proud, daring…hopeful. “I’m sure this must sound really weird and out of the blue,” she says, “but, uh…will you go out with me?”
And when her eyes turn to me, vulnerable and wishful, I suddenly understand that this has nothing to do with my assignment. This has nothing to do with the Dobriks or the Dorians, or secrets or lies. She came to ask me one simple question – one stupid, but completely innocent question. I almost laugh. She likes me.
It’s ironic as hell.
And irritating too, because this wasn’t what was supposed to happen. I’m supposed to walk up to her and ask her out – not the fucking other way around. Hell, I’m supposed to charm her. She’s supposed to coy and play hard to get, so I can use my charms and sweep her off her feet. She’s not supposed to take the initiative and ask meout. She doesn’t even know me! What the hell is she doing?
Things aren’t happening the way I planned, and I don’t like that. I like being in control, and right now, I’m not in control. I’m confused, and stunned, and wary, and I can’t fucking stand being confused. I haven’t been confused in years, and now this damn high school girl walks up to me and asks me out, and suddenly I have no fucking idea what to do.
So I do the only thing I can think of. I look into her eyes and say casually, “Yeah. I’ll go out with you.” And then I wonder what the hell I’ve just done.
What of Stephanie, you ask? Is Derek going to get over her? Is she going to like Derek? All shall be revealed in time. :)
I hope this chapter wasn’t confusing. If you have any questions, please do ask. Review, or email me at The plot’s pretty complicated, and at times I’m going to purposely leave things out. Hopefully after a while everything will make sense.
I’m planning on alternating between Derek and Ellie’s points of view. Obviously, they’re going to everything in completely different ways. Ellie’s going to have this nice, innocent view of things, and Derek’s going to be analyzing and re-analyzing and coming up with all sorts of twisted explanations for everything. Including their relationship.
And you will hear a lot more about Ryan. Derek hates him with a passion.
I’m really going to try to finish this one, guys. Which means my other stories are probably going to be put on hiatus. And if I don’t update this story regularly…feel free to shout at me. :P
Onto Review Replies…
Lilybet Edyvean: Haha…yeah. You probably wrote that first review a month ago. I don’t blame you for not remember what you said. :P Thanks for reviewing again!
Michael J. Cabose: Modest, are you? ;) Spot the Hot? Lol. Nice to know you guys can rhyme. Thanks for reviewing!!
LaughterNYourHead: You can stop twiddling your thumbs now! :D Thanks for the review.
Scribblerofdreams: Yay! Glad you liked it. Thanks for the review!
SkepticCritic: -jaw drops open- WOW. That was a pretty crazy-long review –which his awesome. I love long reviews :). I’m kind of confused though, because I’m not finding any of the stories you mentioned in your review. Is you?? I feel like I’m missing something…:(
As for the questions you asked, here are my answers:
What stories on fp do you read? Any specific ones you follow or type that you normally read? I mostly read romance. Some adventure. I like clichés, but only good ones. Some of the cliché’s I’ve read are just…awful. I guess what I’m saying is that clichés are good, but they’ve got to have SOME sort of realism in them. I love Myrika’s writings; I love Queen of Glass; I love All Along…there’s some really great stories on fp that I adore. (Check my favorite story list!) I haven’t found anything recently on fp that I’ve really liked :. Maybe I’m just tiring of reading the same story lines over and over…
Any favorite authors? Myrika’s an amazing writer. eLbIrDy (formerly laBirdy, formerly birdytamel…-frowns- she has GOT to stop changer her name) is awesome. ;) KNE’s good…oh, just check out my favorite authors list. You’ll get a bunch of names there.
What do you like to read off fp? Everything. Harry Potter, Lisa Gardner’s stuff, 1984…Gone with the Wind is the BEST novel EVER.
Fave authors? Dunno. Philip Pullman is pretty good. As is Lisa Gardner. But I don’t know if I’d say they were my favorite…
Where do you live? I live in Illinois.
Fave movies? A Walk to Remember. I LOVE that movie :). The Matrix is also pretty good.
Fave band/singer? Ooh…that’s too hard.
Fave color? Silver.
Fave animal? Wolf, or like…a husky. Like Balto :P
Your turn!
Leylakedi: Still like him? Or do you think he’s a jerk now? Thanks for the review!
DarkPegasiKnight: It was your birthday? Awesome! I couldn’t have asked for better timing. Happy late birthday. Here’s a second birthday gift? :P
Mistii: Yay! Glad you liked it. :P Thanks for the review.
Leety: Raw. Thanks for putting me on your fav list. “I once yelled at this girl about how she hurt me or something like that and i didn't have a clue who she was.” Haha…that’s awesome.
Kat1e: Awesome, I had no idea I could do that. Thanks for reviewing!